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TMI Blog2015 (5) TMI 1022X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rries taxable goods unless he is duly registered with the Commissioner of Taxes. Therefore, it is clear that every transporter must be registered as a dealer under the T.V.A.T. Act, if he is transporting goods which are taxable under the T.V.A.T. Act. We are not concerned with the other provisions of Section 22 but Section 22(5) empowers the Commissioner of Taxes to suspend or cancel the certificate of registration of a transporter if the transporter, carrier or transporting agency carries on transport business in contravention of the Act and Rules. This clearly shows that the Commissioner has the power to cancel the registration in favour of the transporter in case it is found that the transporter is violating the rules. 3. Section 67 of the T.V.A.T. Act, deals with establishment of check posts for inspection of goods in transport. Section 67(2) provides that the Driver or person in charge of the vehicle or the carrier or goods shall carry with him the record of the goods, including Challan, Bills of Sale or Dispatch Memos and prescribed declaration form duly filled in and signed by the consignee or transporter of goods carrier. The duty of the transporter under this Section is o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing agent unless the requirements laid down in Rule 48 and 51 have been complied with. (9) No delivery of taxable goods shall be given by the transporter without obtaining a copy of permit in Form-XXIV signed by the Superintendent of Taxes/Inspector of Taxes. ...." 10. Sub-rule (8) clearly mandates that the transporter, carrier or transporting agent shall not deliver any taxable goods to the consignee or any person unless the requirements of Rules 48 and 51 are complied with. Sub-rule (9) provides that no delivery of taxable goods shall be given by the transporter without obtaining a copy of permit in form XXIV signed by the Superintendent of Taxes. Therefore, it is the duty of the transporter to ensure that before he delivers the goods, rules 48 and 51 are complied with. It is also his duty to ensure that he must obtain the permit in Form-XXIV duly signed by the Superintendent of Taxes before handing over the goods to any person or dealer. 11. Rules 48 and 49 read as follows:- "48. A registered dealer shall, before taking delivery of or transporting from any place specified in Rule 47, any consignment of taxable goods exceeding the quantities specified in the said ru ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce such triplicate copy within two months. (4) If the Superintendent of Taxes considers it necessary so to do, he may specify the period on the Form XXV so issued by him, for which it will be valid. (5) If any Form XXV obtained by a registered transporter under sub-rule (3) is lost or destroyed or stolen, it should immediately report the fact of such loss, destruction or theft to the Superintendent of Taxes concerned. (6) When the registration certificate of a transporter is cancelled/suspended, such transporter shall forthwith surrender to the concerned Superintendent of Taxes, all unused Form XXV remaining in stock with it and the concerned Superintendent of Taxes shall thereupon cancel and mutilate such form so surrendered." 12. Rule 48 actually is a mandate to the registered dealer and not to the transporter. It requires that before a registered dealer takes delivery of any goods even from a transporter he must submit Form-XXIV out of which one copy has to be submitted to the transporter. 13. Rule 49 provides that the transporter is required to give a true declaration of the goods carried by him in Form-XXV. Form-XXV is made available to the transporter directly by the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re that the goods which he transports match the description given in Form-XVI and are duly entered in Form-XXV. 16. We would, however, like to clarify that if the Revenue Department on the basis of cogent materials and evidence before it can establish that the transporter is hand in glove with the dealer or that the transporter and the dealer are one and the same person though under different trade names then a presumption can be drawn against the transporter also and in such case the transporter may face penal proceedings. However, this can only be done if it is clearly shown that the transporter knew that the goods were something else and he has purposely entered something else in Form-XXV. 17. We have clarified the law in detail not because these issues clearly arise in these cases but because lack of clarification is leading to a lot of problem both for the dealers as well as for the department. As far as the present cases are concerned, it is not disputed that the transporters have on a number of occasions compounded the matters and paid the penalty. 18. It has been urged on behalf of the petitioners that there was a practice going on for long in Tripura that the transporte ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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